03 October 2005

Roger Ryan's Country Cuts

Roger Ryan of the Country Music Association of Ireland sends the following country music news:

Official
Publication of the Country Music Association Of Ireland.

(
Founded January 1969. )

Country Cuts April 2015.

The Hot Country Awards Show will be
staged at the Mullingar Park Hotel, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, on
Tuesday April 28th, and promises to be a glittering affair with
a whole host of Irish Country Superstars set to collect awards
and to perform on the night. This annual event has gone from
strength to strength and is now one of the biggest and best
events of it's kind. And this year's show looks likely to
surpass previous ones with a lineup boasting the likes of Nathan
Carter, Mike Denver, Lisa Mc Hugh, Derek Ryan, Margo, Crystal
Swing, Philomena Begley and Paddy O'Brien, and that's just for
starters as there are many, many more on the bill. Most of
popular Irish stars are due to appear there so it promises to be
a star spangled night. Doors open @ 7.00pm and the show starts
at 8.00pm.

Emmylou and Rodney Crowell will release their new album
“The Traveling Kind” on May 12th, the followup to their 2013
GRAMMY Award winning “Old Yellow Moon.” You can take a listen to
the first track by clicking on their YouTube video.

Martin Gilmore Irish Tour. The Martin Gilmore Trio from
Denver, Colorado, will be touring Ireland from 1 May to 12 May
2015, with a repertoire of bluegrass, country, and some folk.
The Trio consists of Nick Amodeo (mandolin, guitar, vocals), Ian
Haegle (bass, vocals), and Martin Gilmore on guitar, banjo, and
vocals.Back in Colorado, Martin is the guitarist and lead singer with the
bluegrass band Long Road Home, which features the iconic banjo
player Pete Wernick ('Dr Banjo'). As well as being a fine
songwriter, he is the son of Steve Gilmore, guitarist with
High Plains Tradition, and came over with the band on their
tour a year ago, playing support on several of their dates as
well as a lively solo schedule. Martin was here last year as a
solo act and was so well received he was determined to return
with a band. Here is a list of dates for his
forthcoming Irish Tour:

The 25th Athy
Bluegrass Festivalwill be held on 10-12
July 2015 at the GAA Centre, Dublin Road, Athy, Co. Kildare,
with perennial favourites 4 Wheel Drive
(NL/D/B) at the top of the bill. Sharing that position with
them will be Tom Mindte (mandolin), John
Brunschwyler (banjo), and all the Patuxent Partners
. Longtime attenders at Athy festivals know what a treat
this means - favourable responses to the news are already on
the Festival
Facebook.

Derek
Ryan has released his brand new single and first single
of 2015, ‘Cry’. Taken from the number one album, ‘The
Simple Things’, the self-penned serenade has already
been touching the hearts of concert-goers around the
country, and has been highly requested since the album
release. On Saturday, 14th
March, the praised concert tour stopped off at the
Olympia Theatre Dublin, where Derek performed the sweet
composition with the renowned ‘Hallelujah Choir’. 2015 so far has already been a whirlwind of
success for Derek, already with two awards from
Ireland’s leading newspaper, the Sunday World for ‘Album
of The Year’ and ‘Entertainer of The Year’,
for the second year running. The singer/songwriter shows
no signs of slowing down in his career, and will
continue with his Irish concert and dance tour before
heading off to the UK in huge demand! The Tour includes
a mix of old favourites, classic country and Derek’s own
original material.

The 2014 Irish Steel
Guitar Festival will take place on the weekend of
17th and 18th October 2015 at the Green Isle Hotel,
Newland's Cross, Dublin, with Joe
Wright as the featured steel guitar player.

DON
WILLIAMS ANNOUNCES 2015 SPRING AND FALL TOUR

With
his easy-going style and laid back nature, Don Williams
has become one of Country Music’s most-beloved performers
both in the United States, as well as abroad. Williams
announces the Spring and Fall legs of his 2015 tour,
bringing his hits to fans old and new.“Mercy, the fans
have kept us going for years, and I am glad to share the
music with them once again,” says Williams.Williams first
came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the folk
group The Pozo-Seco Singers. The trio recorded several hit
records, with the biggest being “Time.” By 1971, Williams
had gone solo, and had signed a publishing deal with Jack
Clement. The Hall of Fame producer was so taken with Don’s
style that he offered him a recording contract with his
JMI Records in 1972. Early hits included “Atta Way To Go”
and “Come Early Morning,” as well as “We Should Be
Together,” which became his first Billboard top
ten hit from 1974. He then moved to ABC / Dot (Later MCA),
where the hits increased. Tracks such as “Rake and
Ramblin’ Man,” “Tulsa Time,” and “Nobody But You” helped
to make him one of the most-played artists on Country
Radio in the 1970s and 1980s. He took home the Male
Vocalist of the Year trophy from the Country Music
Association in 1978, and notched his biggest hit in 1981
with “I Believe In You,” which also crossed over to the
top-30 on the Hot 100.Subsequent
moves to Capitol Nashville and RCA kept Williams on the
charts into the 1990s, as he continued to play for huge
crowds on the road. His success in the United States is
well-documented, but the music of Don Williams has made
him an international star – with followings in such places
as England and New Zealand. He has placed 52 singles in
the top-40 on the Country charts in the United States,
with 17 going all the way to the top spot. Williams was a
member of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1980s, and
appeared in the films W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings
and Smokey & The Bandit II with Burt Reynolds.
Williams’ most recent album was 2014’s Reflections, which
earned the singer his highest peak on the Country Album
chart in three decades. Known as “The Gentle Giant,”
Williams was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame
in 2010.

EMMYLOU HARRIS AND RODNEY CROWELL’STHE TRAVELING KIND TO BE RELEASED MAY 11 ON NONESUCH RECORDS

Emmylou
Harris and
Rodney Crowell’s new album, The
Traveling Kind,will be released
May 11 on Nonesuch Records. In celebration of
the release, Rolling Stonepremiered the
title track, praising, “‘The Traveling Kind’, set to a
nostalgic, chugging beat, carves the path for the
record, which floats from Memphis grooves to classic,
country-infused folk ballads, telling stories of love,
struggle and the very special art of confessing to
both through lyric.” The site goes on to assert,
“…they’ve built their legacies with melodies, lyrics
and timeless voices that lace together the most
permanent of humanity's living records.” ‘The
Traveling Kind’ is now available as a download with
pre-orders of the album at iTunes and nonesuch.com, where CD and vinyl orders also include
an exclusive, limited-edition print autographed by
Harris and Crowell. International touring will follow
the album release this summer, with further dates
still to be announced.

The
Traveling Kind
follows the longtime friends’ first duet album, 2013’s
Old Yellow Moon, which won Best Americana Album
at the 56th annual Grammy Awards as well as
two awards at the 2013 Americana Music Association
Honors & Awards Show, for Album of the Year and
Duo/Group of the Year. Produced by Grammy Award winner
Joe Henry (Billy Bragg, Elvis Costello, Aimee Mann), The
Traveling Kind
comprises 11 duet tracks, including six new songs
written by Harris and Crowell with co-writing by Mary
Carr, Cory Chisel, Will Jennings, and Larry Klein. Also
featured are new renditions of previous Crowell cuts
including ‘No Memories Hanging Around’ as well as new
interpretations of Lucinda Williams’ ‘I Just Wanted to
See You So Bad’ and Amy Allison’s ‘Her Hair Was Red’.
The full track listing is below.

Of
the project, Harris comments, “In the words of Willie
Nelson, ‘The life I love is making music with my
friends,’ and there’s no better friend for me to make
music with than Rodney. I can’t wait to get out there
on the road with him and play the songs from this new
record.” Crowell adds, “Emmy and I co-wrote six of
the eleven songs on
The Traveling Kind, which was recorded in a
six-day span with our Glory Band, Steuart Smith and
Billy Payne. Joe Henry was at the helm as producer
and Justin Neibank did the recording. The experience
was pretty much akin to falling off a log.”

A
13-time Grammy winner and
Billboard Century Award recipient, Harris’
contribution as a singer and songwriter spans 40
years. She has recorded more than 25 albums and has
lent her talents to countless fellow artists’
recordings. In recognition of her remarkable career,
Harris was inducted into the Country Music Hall of
Fame in 2008. Her most recent solo album, 2011’s
Hard Bargain, debuted in the top 20 on the Billboard
200 chart and received tremendous critical acclaim.

Crowell
is a multi–Grammy Award winner whose songs have been
recorded by Johnny Cash, Norah Jones, Etta James, and
Grateful Dead, among others. His 1988 breakthrough
Diamonds and Dirt generated five # 1 singles and
a Grammy Award for the song ‘After All This Time’.
His critically acclaimed works
The Houston Kid, Fate’s Right Hand, The
Outsider, and Sex and Gasoline
were followed by the 2010 release of his memoir, Chinaberry
Sidewalks. In 2011, Crowell released
KIN: Songs by Mary Karr and Rodney Crowell,
which debuted at # 1 on the Americana album chart and
featured specials guests including Kris Kristofferson,
Vince Gill, and Lucinda Williams, among many others.
His most recent solo album,
Tarpaper Sky, was released in 2014. Crowell’s
honors also include an ASCAP Lifetime Achievement
Award and membership in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

9.If
You Lived Here, You’d Be Home Now (Rodney
Crowell/Emmylou Harris)

10.Her
Hair Was Red (Amy Allison)

11.La
Danse de la Joie (Rodney Crowell/Emmylou Harris/Will
Jennings)

UK DATES

July
12 BRISTOL Colston Hall (Americana
Weekend)

July
17 GATESHEAD Summertyne Festival

August
13 CROPREDY Festival

The Country
Music Association announced recently that Jim
Ed Brown and The Browns, Grady Martin,
and The Oak Ridge Boys will become the
newest members of the revered Country Music Hall of Fame. Jim
Ed Brown and The Browns (siblings Maxine and
Bonnie) will be inducted in the “Veterans Era
Artist” category, while The Oak Ridge Boys (Duane
Allen, Joe Bonsall, William
Lee Golden, and Richard Sterban)
will be inducted in the “Modern Era Artist” category. Martin
will be inducted in the “Recording and/or Touring Musician
Active Prior to 1980” category, which is awarded every third
year in a rotation with the “Non-Performer” and “Songwriter”
categories. The Browns, Martin, and The Oak Ridge Boys will
increase membership in the coveted Country Music Hall of Fame
from 124 to 127 members.“Induction into the Country Music Hall
of Fame is the highest honor achievable for a Country Music
artist, songwriter, or industry leader and this year’s
inductees are all highly deserving,” said Sarah
Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer.“Today is an
overwhelming day not just for me, but for the Brown family”
said Jim Ed Brown. “Receiving this honor with my sisters,
Maxine and Bonnie, is something I had dreamed about for years,
but never knew if it would happen or not. Fame is fleeting,
hit records change every week, award show winners and nominees
change every year, but being inducted into the Country Music
Hall of Fame will be forever!”“The induction into the Country
Music Hall of Fame is the highest honor I could ever imagine
receiving,” said Allen of The Oak Ridge Boys. “It still gives
me chills when I think about it really happening. I am humbled
to the core. I know I speak for the other Boys when I say how
grateful and honored we are to be chosen. I have seen tears in
the eyes of Richard Sterban only two times. The first was when
we were made members of the Grand Ole Opry. The second was
when we were informed that we would be among the next
inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Richard LOVES
baseball, so, when we were about to depart, he turned around
to me and said, ‘This is Cooperstown!’”“We have seen dream
after dream come true, and we are thankful and humbled every
day. Now this day has come, and it is the biggest thing to
ever happen to The Oak Ridge Boys,” added Bonsall. “I have no
words, and yet I have thousands of words racing through my
heart and mind. I am in total awe. The whole paradigm has
changed. Four little Boys from Texas, Alabama, Philadelphia,
and New Jersey, who dreamed of singing songs in four-part
harmony will NOW be in ‘The Hall.’”Induction ceremonies for
Martin (who passed away in 2001), Jim Ed Brown and The Browns,
and The Oak Ridge Boys will take place at the Country Music
Hall of Fame and Museum in the CMA Theater later this year.
Since 2007, the Museum’s Medallion Ceremony, an annual reunion
of the Hall of Fame membership, has served as the official
rite of induction for new members.CMA created the Country
Music Hall of Fame in 1961 to recognize noteworthy individuals
for their outstanding contributions to the format with Country
Music’s highest honour.“We are in the business of celebrating
legendary artists, and today we have the privilege of honoring
a very special group of legendary artists, the class of 2015
Country Music Hall of Fame inductees,” said Kyle
Young, Director of the Country Music Hall of Fame
and Museum. “These remarkable entertainers – The Oak Ridge
Boys; Jim Ed Brown and his sisters, Maxine and Bonnie; and the
late, great guitarist Grady Martin – all represent quality and
precision in their music. They exemplify harmony, whether in
the blending of their magnificent voices, or in the tightly
knit ensemble playing of an accomplished musician.”The
announcement was made recently in the Rotunda of the Country
Music Hall of Fame in Nashville and could be seen via live
stream on CMAworld.com
with the archived footage being available through the end of
the month.